The Green Arrow
by Temparance23
Summary: Oliver warming up to the name 'The Green Arrow". Set post 2x08. Olicity.


The Green Arrow

**A/N: This is my first written story ever. I would really welcome reviews. I wanted Oliver to warm up to the idea of using the name the green arrow. That is where the idea came from. I have read many great Olicity fanfic so the idea of using the name Paul was to add consistency. I do hope you like it because I enjoyed writing it. **

[Pre Mission]

A normal Sunday afternoon for a normal person can be spent relaxing, shopping and for some even working those last minute datelines but not for Team Arrow. Team Arrow's Sunday afternoons usually consist of catching another bad guy.

Oliver was to meet Felicity and Diggle at the their base at Verdant to discuss the latest bad guy that needed to be taken down. He knew he was late to meet them but finding an excuse to leave brunch with Thea and his mum were more difficult on Sundays. He found them sitting by the computer. As Oliver walked towards the pair, he was surprised to hear that the topic being discussed was not about the latest mission.

Diggle: "You look particularly nice today Felicity. Someone might think that you had other plans that do not involve tracking or hacking." Diggle teased.

Felicity: " And you would be right. I have a date tonight."

Oliver noticed that Felicity gave a very wide smile with a hint of blush.

Oliver: " With that Paul guy?"

Startled, Felicity jumped a little in her chair. She did not notice Oliver had walked in, much less heard the conversation. Of course Diggle had known because he did not even bother to glace in Oliver's direction. How is it possible that after all these years working together, he could still sneak in like that? She really thought that her sense of awareness had improved, considering all the training that both Diggle and Oliver were giving her, it should have. She is now convinced that there is secret technique that they are holding back and she will pry it out of them. Still she managed to answer like his sudden appearance did not affect her. "Thank goodness at least I have that skill down", she thought.

Felicity: "Yes Paul. I am not even going to comment on how you keep calling him 'that Paul guy' because I am just happy we are finally going on our third date, considering I have canceled twice already."

"Huh, third date, kinda big deal isn't it?" asking the question to herself. " I mean it usually means that we are 'interested'… no… 'invested' in the relationship and that we actually want 'us' to be an 'us' or is it significant because it's the date that people usually put out." Wide-eyed Felicity just realized that her internal dialog was not so internal. Looking straight at the screen with her pink blush turning completely red. " I can't believe I just said that out loud." Felicity said under her breath.

At the corner of her eye she could see Diggle smiling and Oliver giving her that one raised eyebrow and head tilt that he has perfected. Usually, this would be the time where Oliver would just ignore and press on, but give or take 1 minute had passed and nothing. No word from either of them. Felicity swallowed hard and decided 2 minutes of silence would be torture. She pressed on.

Felicity: " Detective Lance… Sorry, officer Lance said the agent's name is Joel Masterson. He was placed undercover 2 months ago. His objective was to infiltrate the drug smuggling, human trafficking and racketeering organization called… nothing. They have no name; at least I could not find one. You would think they would be better at hiding what they do instead of hiding what they are called."

Oliver: "Felicity"

Felicity: " Sorry. I managed to relocate Agent Masterson's last known location near 34th street where officer Lance found his phone. The area surrounding 34th street, as far as I can tell, belongs to this organization."

Diggle: " Because of the intel Masterson has been providing."

Felicity: " Exactly. Traffic cams around the time of the lost connection indicates that he may have been in a white van, no number plate, but I did manage to isolate an image of a logo from the reflecting windshield of one of the parked cars the van passed. It's from a meat packaging facility in the Glades called 'Vlees'. Which means meat in Dutch."

Oliver: " And that is our best lead."

Diggle: " It is a long shot, Oliver."

Oliver: " I know. But the police have written him off." Pressing his lips together, Oliver gave a slightest shake of his head. "We won't"

[Post Mission]

Oliver walked down the stairs to Verdant's secret room. The stairs seems so much longer today. Diggle had gone straight home after Team Arrow's mission debriefing. He figured that everyone had to deal with what happened in his or her own way. For soldiers like Diggle and Island castaway like himself, solitude was best. After checking in with Thea and his mother, he returned because most days, he found that this place was his best chance for privacy.

What Oliver did not expect to find was Felicity still sitting at her chair just as he left her 2 hours before. Than he realized, not exactly the same, now she had one of his arrows between her fingers, just like the last time something like this had happened. She looked like she was examining it inch by inch. Not wanting to startle her like he did before the mission, he made his presence known by calling her name.

Felicity glanced at his direction but not at him. It was usually easy to catch Felicity' eyes with his. She was always so open, sincere. There are moments he has felt like she could see through him, straight down to his soul and understand him. When episodes like that happen, he found it hard to look away, hoping that he was right but he knew that it couldn't be, life was just not that easy for him.

He walked towards her, lifting a chair from the adjacent bench and placed it in front of hers. He sat down, looking at her while she examined his arrow. Ordinarily, Felicity would start talking first, he would just wait and she would say something so unexpected and he would start smiling in spite of himself, but today she didn't. She just sat there looking at his arrow, he got worried.

Oliver:" Hey, I thought you had a date?" he said quietly while flashing one of his smiles trying to lighten the mood.

Felicity looked up at him and gave a sad smile.

Felicity: " I canceled. I couldn't talk to him about what happened and all I can think about now is what happened."

Paul, Oliver thought. She was not even interested at first but he managed to warm his way into her life. He was clean, as far as background checks go, just a couple of parking tickets. When he heard her talk about Paul earlier and about putting out, he felt angry, hurt and scared that Paul might hurt her. The first two emotions, he still could not understand why he had felt it, or maybe he just doesn't want to, but the latter was very clear. Oliver decided than and there he was going to put an arrow in 'that Paul guy' if he ever hurt her.

Felicity asked quietly: " How do you and Digg do it? Get past seeing someone die like that? I know we got the information to cripple the organization and I remembered you told me that sometimes we lose… but…"

Oliver: " It's still hard." Finishing her sentence. "Honestly Felicity, I hope that if this ever happens again that it would be just as hard for you to get over."

Felicity creased her eyebrows and looked at him uncomprehendingly. Oliver pressed on.

Oliver: " Digg and I have seen so many deaths. Those deaths have little by little chipped away at us. We have learnt to accept it, to expect it. We have lost what you still have."

Felicity: " What's that?"

Oliver: " Innocence"

They sat there and stared at each other. Oliver felt it again, the way she looked into his eyes, like she saw trough him. Felicity blinked first and went back to examining his arrow.

A few minutes passed in silence.

Oliver: " Felicity, do you want to talk about your day?"

Felicity looked up at him with questioning eyes.

Felicity: " Is that offer still valid?"

Oliver smiled: " Always"

Felicity gave him a faint appreciative smile and held up the arrow, she started slowly: " You asked me once, why you keep finding me holding your arrows and I told you it was because Barry had said that if you switched to aluminum carbon composite instead of using carbon arrows… " Felicity stopped abruptly "Anyway, I lied."

She continued: " I take your arrows…arrow every time I feel like this. Like there are just too many bad people in the world. I look at it. I try to think of it as just a tool, that an arrow does not kill, it's people that kills." Felicity looks and twists the arrow in her hands " Then I see the colour, green, I am reminded that this is your arrow." Felicity looks up at Oliver. " Your arrow, a hero's arrow, one that is used to save people not to kill them. Than I hope that there are more people like you in this world than there are of the others."

Felicity is smiling now, smiling at him. It's faint but it's there. Oliver was speechless, not just because he did not know what to say but also because he did not want to ruin this moment. This moment where he gets a glimpse of what she sees in him or rather how she sees him. He recognizes it, from all the times he had wished that that someone like who Felicity thinks he is would be there on the island to save him, to save his city. Diggle and Felicity, because of them he became more that he thought he could ever be.

Felicity: " Thank you for listening."

Felicity got up and prepared to leave. She placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder while turning to walk away. Oliver took her hand in his before she let go. She looked back at him.

Oliver: "Felicity, you are a hero too. You are a hero's hero" Oliver gave her his warmest and most sincere smile. A smile, that since the island, he did not know he could ever give again.

Felicity smiled in returned and replied: " Goodnight Oliver."

Oliver: " Goodnight, Felicity."

Felicity turned to leave. As she walked, he watched her. Playing the conversation in his head again. She was talking about the arrow and how the colour of the arrow had made a difference.

The Green Arrow.

End


End file.
